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WestConnex tunnelling begins

The first road header has begun excavating underground at Cintra Park in Concord as part of the first WestConnex tunnel.

The road header will be one of four working underground in both directions to create the 5.5km tunnels linking Homebush with Haberfield in the first stage of WestConnex.

“This is a milestone event for the congestion-busting WestConnex motorway, which will deliver more than $20 billion in benefits to NSW and create 10,000 jobs during construction,” Premier Mike Baird said.

The new tunnels will be among the widest in the southern hemisphere and will bypass a heavily congested section of Parramatta Road, helping motorists who currently get stuck in traffic at the end of the M4.

The majority of the Cintra Park site will be landscaped and returned to the community when construction finishes. A new hockey facility has already been built at Concord to replace the previous field at Cintra Park.

NSW Minister for Roads Duncan Gay said the government was delivering much-needed infrastructure for Sydney’s growing population.

Tunnelling will begin at four different sites across the rest of 2016. The M4 East will open to motorists in 2019.

The M4 East will connect to a widened M4 at Homebush, with connections at Concord Road, Parramatta Road and City West Link.

When complete, WestConnex will join the M4 and M5 in a continuous motorway with connections at Rozelle, Camperdown, St Peters and Sydney Airport.